On Wednesday, 11 March 2026, the educational community of PROJECT CONNECT’s Adopt a Ship program came together in an online meeting with representatives of shipping companies, as well as Rear Admiral (HN Ret.) Athanasios Makris, Director of the Office of the Deputy Minister of Maritime Affairs, Mr. Stefanos Gkikas. Mr. Makris highlighted the holistic nature of the program, noting: “The sea represents communication, extroversion, trade, culture, freedom and spirit. All these elements are reflected in Adopt a Ship. What better starting point than education and young citizens, who often experience the sea only seasonally? This is a reality that must also reach inland communities, beyond the islands — to help young people understand the maritime world, feel inspired and recognize that it offers a meaningful and evolving professional pathway worth considering. For this reason, Adopt a Ship stands as a strong example of how such an initiative can function holistically. We encourage companies to offer these opportunities, as they create added value that benefits all.”
Within this context, the meeting highlighted the growing impact of Adopt a Ship, which over the past eight years has evolved into a vibrant community connecting educators, ship captains and students. At the heart of the program lies a simple yet powerful mission to build meaningful bridges between schools and the maritime
world and better prepare the next generation for the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead by developing skill sets from an early age following their new “role models” captains and engineers.
Adopt a Ship operates as a holistic educational tool implemented across all levels of education, from kindergarten and primary school to lower secondary education and maritime-oriented vocational high schools (EPAL). Within this framework, the ship becomes a starting point for interdisciplinary learning in the classroom, helping students develop skills while gaining their first meaningful insight into the maritime industry. Through regular correspondence with the captain of the vessel adopted by their class, students experience in a direct and engaging way how the maritime sector operates. In this way, students discover the professions connected to the sea and explore the opportunities the maritime industry offers.
As noted during the meeting by Ms. Irene Notias, Founder and Director of PROJECT CONNECT her vision goes beyond introduction to maritime culture; it is to create real prospects for young people who wish for a better livelihood that only the maritime sector can offer. One that will allow them to create families by building professional paths in shipping and at same time become the next generation that will support and strengthen the industry.
The results already confirm the program’s impact. Over the past three years, 211 students were admitted to the Merchant Marine Academies (AEN) as an outcome of their participation in the Adopt a Ship program. Since 2019, more than 1,070 school classes and 513 ship captains have participated in the program in Greece and the United States, creating an extensive network that now reaches more than 27,000 students, over 800 educators and over 1500 seafarers.
The teachers reaffirmed that Adopt a Ship has become an influential tool linking core educational subjects with the maritime industry, opening pathways for the next generation of maritime professionals and a teachers tool they chose over and over again.
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